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  • British art ‘giant’ David Hockney dies aged 88

    British art ‘giant’ David Hockney dies aged 88

    One of the most transformative and influential figures in modern global art, David Hockney, has passed away peacefully at his London home at the age of 88, just one month shy of his 89th birthday, his public relations representative Erica Bolton confirmed in an official statement released Friday.

    Widely celebrated as a foundational pioneer of the 1960s Pop Art movement, Hockney maintained an unwavering commitment to creation, experimentation, and public exhibition of his work right up until his death. Across his 70-year career, he built a vast, diverse body of work defined by cross-medium experimentation, rigorous intellectual exploration of perception, perspective, and visual representation, and a lifelong celebration of the vibrancy and beauty of the world around him.

    Born in 1937 in West Yorkshire, northern England, Hockney launched his artistic training at the Bradford School of Art before going on to study at London’s Royal College of Art, where he graduated with the institution’s prestigious Gold Medal distinction. A conscientious objector during the era of mandatory military service, he completed his alternative service working as a hospital orderly, and defied the conservative social conventions of post-war Britain from an early age: he lived openly as a gay man and dedicated himself fully to his artistic vision at a time when such openness carried significant risk.

    By the mid-1960s, Hockney had emerged as a leading voice in a new generation of groundbreaking British artists. After relocating to California in 1964, his work captured the sun-drenched, carefree energy of 1960s West Coast life, alongside the rolling, bucolic landscapes of his native Yorkshire, and intimate portraits of the people and places that shaped him. His iconic 1972 work *Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)* made global headlines in 2018 when it sold at auction in New York for $90.3 million, setting a new record for the most expensive work sold by a living artist at auction — a title he held until 2019, when Jeff Koons’ *Rabbit* surpassed the mark.

    A lifelong innovator never afraid to embrace new tools and technologies, Hockney worked across far more mediums than traditional painting and drawing: he built a celebrated body of work in printmaking, photography, and even stage design, and was an early adopter of digital art tools. When Apple first released the iPad in 2010, Hockney immediately adopted the device as a core creative tool, even collaborating with software developers to build custom art apps tailored to his creative process, according to a profile from the U.K.’s National Portrait Gallery.

    Hockney earned global critical acclaim and formal recognition from both his home country and international governments throughout his career. In 1997, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour by the British monarchy, and earlier this year, he joined the small ranks of non-French citizens awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian honor.

    News of his death sparked an outpouring of tributes from art institutions and peers within minutes of the official announcement. Art historian Richard Morris paid tribute to Hockney on the social platform X, noting that his greatest achievement was making technically rigorous, groundbreaking painting look effortless. “He carried forward one of the most sustained investigations into vision, space and representation by any post-war artist. British art has lost a giant,” Morris wrote.

    Paris’ Centre Pompidou, which collaborated with Hockney on two of his most iconic retrospective exhibitions, called him “unquestionably one of the major figures of contemporary art,” adding that the body of work he leaves behind remains “dazzling, alive and eternal.”

    Remarkably, Hockney continued creating and sharing new work right up until his passing. London’s Serpentine Gallery is currently hosting the artist’s first exhibition at the institution, which was curated in close collaboration with Hockney himself and features a collection of his newest paintings. Upcoming retrospective exhibitions are already in development at London’s Tate and the Munch Museum in Oslo.

    In addition to his unmatched artistic legacy, Hockney is survived by his long-time partner and companion Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima, two of his brothers, and a large extended family of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Bolton’s statement noted that Hockney, who never lost his distinctive northern Yorkshire accent, remained a defiant, lifelong smoker who praised the pleasure the habit brought him, and continued smoking up until his death.

  • David Hockney: contemporary master of brilliant, bold colours

    David Hockney: contemporary master of brilliant, bold colours

    The global art community is mourning the loss of one of the most influential contemporary artists of the last two centuries, British icon David Hockney, who passed away peacefully at his London home on Thursday, just one month shy of his 89th birthday. Hockney leaves behind a sprawling, decades-spanning body of work defined by its bold, electrifying color palettes that transformed everything from sun-drenched California pools to rolling English countryside into unforgettable cultural touchstones.

    Born to working-class parents in the northern English industrial town of Bradford in 1937, Hockney defied the rigid social conventions of post-WWII Britain from a young age. Openly embracing his identity as a gay man at a time when same-sex relations were criminalized and widely taboo across much of the Western world, he also committed himself early to a career in art, rejecting the expectations placed on working-class young men of his era. As a young adult, he served as a conscientious objector during military service, working as a hospital orderly before pursuing formal training first at the Bradford School of Art, then at London’s prestigious Royal College of Art starting in 1959.

    Even in his student years, Hockney’s work broke new ground. His 1950s piece *We Two Boys Together Clinging* made an unapologetic, public statement about same-sex attraction at a time when such themes were excluded from mainstream galleries. It was his abstract work *Doll Boy*, a subtle tribute to his crush on pop star Cliff Richard, that first caught the attention of influential London art dealer John Kasmin, who purchased the piece for just £40. Kasmin later recalled reaching out to the young, shy, cash-strapped student — then recognizable for his black crew cut and National Health Service glasses — to invite him for tea, and began selling small drawings for just £7 to £8 apiece to launch his career. Shortly after Hockney graduated from the Royal College with a gold medal, Kasmin hosted his first solo exhibition, which sold out entirely. Almost overnight, Hockney emerged as a defining cultural figure, famous for his signature bleached blond hair, round-rimmed glasses, and bold, playful personal style.

    In 1964, Hockney relocated to California, where he created the bright, sun-drenched, minimalist scenes that cemented his status as a leading figure in the global pop art movement. His 1967 masterpiece *A Bigger Splash*, which captures the split second after a diver disappears beneath the surface of a backyard swimming pool, remains one of the most iconic artworks of the 20th century. Over the following decades, his jet-set lifestyle took him across the globe, from the south of France to Morocco, New York, and London, and he painted intimate portraits of the designers, dancers, and artists that made up his wide social circle. By the end of the 1960s, the once shy art student had transformed into a global art star, moving in elite social circles while retaining the mischievous charm and occasional blunt combativeness that defined his personality.

    A relentless innovator across mediums, Hockney’s work extended far beyond canvas painting. He designed stage sets for theater and opera, experimented with printmaking, and reimagined photographic collage in the 1980s with his invention of “joiners” — assemblages of slightly offset snapshots that created a cubist-inspired patchwork effect, echoing the work of his lifelong artistic hero Pablo Picasso. Always an early adopter of new technology, he embraced tools from Polaroid cameras to video recorders, and in his 70s began creating art on an Apple iPad. Large-scale prints of his tablet-created works headlined his 2012 *A Bigger Picture* exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts.

    Later in his career, Hockney returned repeatedly to his Yorkshire roots to care for his mother, and over time he began painting the region’s rolling, bucolic landscapes, reinventing himself once again as a leading contemporary landscape artist. After relocating back to the UK from the United States, he fell in love with the lush, green landscapes of northern France — the same region that inspired impressionist master Claude Monet — and moved there, where he created one of his late-career bodies of work, *A Year in Normandy*. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Hockney framed his enforced isolation as an opportunity, throwing himself into painting the unfolding spring season in Normandy with his signature explosive palette of bright hues. He told AFP during a 2021 Paris exhibition of his Normandy work, “If you look at the world, it’s very beautiful.”

    In 2023, Hockney returned to London to escape constant unwanted attention from visitors in Normandy. Even as his health declined, leaving him frail and reliant on a wheelchair, he remained actively engaged in curating a major retrospective of his decades-long career, which opened in Paris in April 2025.

    Hockney’s place in art history was cemented in 2018, when his iconic work *Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)* sold at auction in New York for $90.3 million, breaking the record for the most expensive work sold by a living artist. His agent Erica Bolton remembered him this week as “one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries,” while London’s Tate Gallery once called him “perhaps the most popular and versatile British artist of the 20th century.” Throughout his life, he retained the broad Yorkshire accent of his upbringing, and never lost his lifelong fondness for simple pleasures: fish and chips, and cigarettes, once joking in a 2015 interview with The Guardian, “It used to be you couldn’t be gay. Now you can be gay but you can’t smoke. There’s always something.”

  • David Hockney, artist renowned for his pool scenes, has died at 88

    David Hockney, artist renowned for his pool scenes, has died at 88

    LONDON – Iconic 20th-century artist David Hockney, best known for his luminous paintings of sun-drenched California swimming pools that defined mid-century modern art, passed away Thursday at the age of 88, just weeks shy of his 89th birthday, his publicist Erica Bolton confirmed.

    Born in the industrial northern English city of Bradford in 1937, Hockney spent his formative years in the region’s textile manufacturing hub before earning a spot at London’s Royal College of Art. Even before graduating, his bold, distinctive style caught the attention of the art world, and leading dealer John Kasmin signed him to his roster in 1961. By his late 20s, Hockney had become a defining figure in the swinging art scenes of 1960s Britain and the United States, recognizable by his signature round glasses and bleached-blond hair.

    After first visiting the U.S. in 1963, Hockney fell in love with Southern California’s bright, clear light and settled there for much of his life, turning sun-baked suburban landscapes and shimmering swimming pools into his most iconic motifs. He once told the Los Angeles Times in 1979, “London has lots of dreary parts but I never find anything dreary in Los Angeles.” His signature works rendered dreamlike worlds of patterned light bouncing off water and glass, with simplified human forms rendered in matte acrylic that felt both fresh and timeless.

    As an openly gay artist working at a time when same-sex relationships were still criminalized across much of Britain, Hockney broke new ground by centering tender, celebratory depictions of gay intimacy in his work. Early pieces including *We Two Boys Together Clinging* and *Two Men in a Shower* normalized queer relationships at a time when they were rarely depicted in mainstream art, with friends and lovers often serving as his models.

    Drawing from a vast range of influences spanning Renaissance portraiture, J.M.W. Turner’s Romantic landscapes, Pablo Picasso’s cubist experiments, and 20th-century American pop art, Hockney developed a style that defied easy categorization. Though he incorporated pop art’s focus on everyday modern life — even including a British Typhoo Tea box label in his 1961 work *Tea Painting in an Illusionistic Style* — he long rejected being labeled a pop artist, telling the *New York Times* in 1964, “I’m just an ordinary artist,” while noting he always considered himself rooted in the English artistic tradition. He compared his move to chase California’s light to earlier generations of English artists who traveled to Italy for inspiration, drawing a throughline between historic artistic practice and his own modern work.

    Over a seven-decade career, Hockney never limited himself to a single medium. Beyond painting and drawing, he designed costumes and sets for opera and theater, including a celebrated 1987 production of *Tristan und Isolde* at the Los Angeles Opera. He pioneered the use of photo collage, assembling hundreds of individual snapshots into sprawling composite works like *Pearblossom Highway, 11-18th April, 1986*, which blurred the line between photography and painting. His insights from photographic experimentation even led him to publish the 2001 scholarly book *Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters*, which argued that Renaissance and Old Master artists had used optical tools and lenses to refine their work far more widely than art historians had previously acknowledged. Late in his career, he embraced digital technology, making the iPad his primary drawing tool, creating vibrant, spontaneous landscapes that reached new audiences.

    Later in life, Hockney returned to his European roots, drawing new inspiration from the rolling wooded hills of his native Yorkshire and the rural landscapes of Normandy, France, where he relocated in 2019. During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, he created a series of joyous iPad drawings of Normandy’s spring landscapes, paired with the hopeful message: “Do remember they can’t cancel the spring.” The phrase became a global rallying cry, and was featured prominently at a major retrospective of his work that opened at Paris’ Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2025.

    Hockney’s work earned both critical acclaim and enormous commercial success, with his pieces selling for record-breaking prices at auction. In 2018, his 1972 masterpiece *Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)* sold at Christie’s for $90.3 million, at the time the highest price ever paid for a work by a living artist. Four years earlier, his 1966 pool painting *The Splash* fetched $30 million at Sotheby’s. Beyond auction houses, his work entered public life: he painted a permanent mural on the bottom of the swimming pool at Los Angeles’ historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and designed the Queen’s Window, a stained-glass window at Westminster Abbey honoring Queen Elizabeth II’s long reign, completed in 2018.

    Art world figures have long praised Hockney’s enduring ability to bring joy to audiences worldwide. Art historian Simon Schama wrote in an essay for the 2025 Paris retrospective, “His work is admired — loved is not too strong a word — by the millions who, worldwide, flock to see it because it presupposes an expectation of pleasure.” Curator Norman Rosenthal, who organized the 2025 exhibition, called Hockney “the Picasso of our times,” noting, “David Hockney is also an incredibly popular artist whose work changes how we see things.”

    Hockney often said his commitment to daily work was what kept him vital. After a minor stroke in 2012, and experiencing increasing hearing loss in later life — which he said actually improved his ability to perceive visual space — he continued creating every day. “It’s my work that keeps me young,” he told the *Sun* newspaper in 2017. “I’ve been a professional painter for 60 years. Sixty years of getting up every day and doing exactly what I want to do.” He also once told the Associated Press, “You are a rich man if you do the things you want to do” — a philosophy he embodied throughout his decades-long career.

  • Ex-Tottenham owner sells art collection in blockbuster auction

    Ex-Tottenham owner sells art collection in blockbuster auction

    One of the most valuable private art collections ever assembled in Europe, built over decades by former Tottenham Hotspur majority owner Joe Lewis, is set to hit the auction block this month at Sotheby’s London, with an opening total valuation of no less than £200 million ($267 million) that experts say could climb far higher on the night.

    The 89-year-old British billionaire, who holds an estimated net worth of £5.8 billion according to 2024’s The Sunday Times Rich List and transferred his controlling stake in the Premier League football club to a family trust back in 2022, has amassed a trove of 48 works spanning more than a century of modern and contemporary art from some of the most iconic names in global art history. The upcoming sale spans creations from early 20th century pioneers to boundary-pushing post-war British artists, with standout pieces carrying eight-figure valuations that draw collectors and enthusiasts from across the globe.

    Headlining the auction is Amedeo Modigliani’s *Nu assis au collier* (Seated Nude Wearing a Necklace), a work that sparked public scandal when it was first unveiled in 1917 Paris. The iconic nude painting carries an estimate of over £45 million, making it one of the most expensive lots in the entire collection. Other high-profile entries include a bronze dancer sculpture by Impressionist master Edgar Degas, valued between £18 million and £25 million, and Gustav Klimt’s 1902 *Portrait of Gertrud Loew*, a key work from the Vienna Secession movement projected to sell for £20 million to £30 million. Rounding out the star lots are Pablo Picasso’s 1938 *Buste de femme*, a portrait of the artist’s muse and collaborator Dora Maar valued at £12 million to £18 million, and Lucian Freud’s 1995-1996 *Sleeping by the Lion Carpet*, a nuanced nude depiction of the artist’s long-time muse Sue Tilley estimated to fetch between £25 million and £35 million. Sotheby’s Europe Chairman Oliver Barker calls the Freud work “arguably the greatest Lucian Freud painting ever to make its way to market.”

    The collection also includes additional entries from Vienna Secession pioneer Egon Schiele, surrealist icon René Magritte, and groundbreaking British post-war artist Francis Bacon, bringing together a diverse curation that reflects Lewis’s decades-long eye for transformative 20th century art. Barker emphasized that the scope of the Lewis Collection is unprecedented for a European auction: “There’s never ever been a collection of this magnitude that’s ever been offered for sale, actually, either in the UK or indeed in Europe.” He added that the £200 million pre-sale estimate is the highest ever attached to a private collection offered anywhere on the continent, and calls the valuation “very moderately estimated” with strong potential for final bids to far exceed projections.

    Members of the public can view all auction lots for free at Sotheby’s London location through June 23. The 25 most valuable works will be auctioned on the evening of June 24, with the remaining lots going under the hammer the following day. Barker frames the sale as a turning point for Lewis and his family, coming shortly after the billionaire received a presidential pardon from former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2024, months after he pleaded guilty to federal insider trading charges. Lewis’s daughter Vivienne Lewis remains an active collector focused on supporting emerging and avant-garde contemporary artists, Barker noted.

    The upcoming auction aligns with a resurgent global art market following a period of slowdown driven by economic uncertainty and a shortage of top-tier works for sale. Earlier this spring, blockbuster auctions in New York delivered record-breaking prices for iconic creations by Jackson Pollock, Constantin Brâncuși, and Mark Rothko, signaling renewed buyer enthusiasm for museum-quality masterpieces. Back in March, four works from Lewis’s collection by members of the London School of British art, including pieces by Freud and Bacon, sold for £35.8 million at Sotheby’s to a packed salesroom.
    “You know there’s been a great deal of wealth creation around the world at the moment and I think more of it has been driven to the art market,” Barker explained. “The market has been so starved of true masterpieces, and so the opportunity to acquire works of this calibre truly is a great opportunity.”

    If the Lewis Collection matches or exceeds its estimated value, it will come close to matching the 2009 European record for a private collection auction set by the estate of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. That Christie’s auction carried an initial estimate of 200 to 300 million euros, and ultimately sold for 373.9 million euros, equal to roughly £333 million at the time.

  • Taylor Swift becomes youngest woman in Songwriters Hall of Fame

    Taylor Swift becomes youngest woman in Songwriters Hall of Fame

    On a milestone Thursday night in New York City, 36-year-old global pop superstar Taylor Swift etched her name into music history, becoming the youngest woman ever inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame. This achievement marks the latest in a long string of record-breaking honors for Swift, who has reshaped modern popular music over her nearly two-decade career. Before Swift’s induction, the title of youngest woman inductee belonged to Carole Bayer Sager, who joined the Hall at 43 back in 1987. Across all genders, Stevie Wonder still holds the record as the youngest inductee, earning his place at 32 in 1983. To qualify for Hall of Fame induction, artists must wait 20 years after the release of their first commercially distributed track. For Swift, that starting point came in June 2006, when she dropped her debut single “Tim McGraw” that launched her into the country music spotlight. In the years since that first release, Swift’s success has become almost unparalleled in the global music industry. She has released 12 full-length studio albums that span multiple genres, from her country roots to chart-topping pop and introspective folk projects. Her trophy case includes 14 Grammy Awards, with a historic four wins in the coveted Album of the Year category — a feat no other artist has achieved. The Songwriters Hall of Fame’s official biography of Swift highlights the unique versatility that defines her songwriting craft. “Swift’s ability to shapeshift as a songwriter, to inhabit different sonic landscapes and write as credibly in the world of one genre as she does another is part of her superpower as a songwriter,” the entry reads. The bio adds that this genre flexibility also showcases the creative courage of her artistry: “to explore new frontiers when the most practical next step would be to keep mining the material that has gotten you the success in the first place.” Ahead of the official induction ceremony, Swift posed for photos on the New York red carpet, stunning in a strapless black gown embroidered with delicate floral motifs. Swift was not the only creative celebrated at Thursday’s ceremony. Eight other songwriters and industry figures joined her in the 2024 induction class, including two founding members of legendary rock band KISS: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the creative force behind iconic hits like “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City.” When asked about his feelings on joining the Hall, Paul Stanley kept his response characteristically blunt: “It doesn’t suck.” He added, “It’s really hard to digest the idea. I certainly don’t consider myself in that rarified air of some of the writers, but if you wanna be in that club, I’m there.” Another 2024 inductee is Kenny Loggins, the hitmaker responsible for some of the most iconic movie soundtrack tracks of all time, including “Footloose” from the 1984 film of the same name and “Danger Zone” from the original *Top Gun*. Loggins called his induction a high point of his decades-long career. “It’s a great honor and I appreciate it,” he told AFP. “It’s the culmination of a lifetime writing, and that’s exciting for me.” The 2024 induction class also includes 1990s breakout Canadian star Alanis Morissette, celebrated American record producer Walter Afanasieff, and four other honorees, bringing the total number of new inductees to nine. Beyond her Hall of Fame honor, Swift’s commercial success continues to break industry records. Industry estimates place her total global album-equivalent sales at more than 250 million units. Her groundbreaking 2023-2024 Eras Tour, which has spanned the globe, has grossed an unprecedented roughly $2 billion, making it the highest-grossing tour in music history. She also holds the record for the most top-10 Billboard Hot 100 hits by any female artist in the chart’s history. Swift has remained a constant presence in global pop culture in recent weeks, even beyond her music career. Fresh off releasing a new country track for the upcoming *Toy Story 5* film soundtrack, she made a high-profile appearance at Madison Square Garden Wednesday to attend a game in the 2024 NBA Finals, keeping her in the headlines across entertainment and sports media.

  • Olivia Rodrigo sings about heartbreak but she’s already chosen her wedding song

    Olivia Rodrigo sings about heartbreak but she’s already chosen her wedding song

    It was meant to be an open-air interview at Hampstead Heath, one of Olivia Rodrigo’s most beloved spots in London, but a sudden, torrential downpour derailed the original plan. Within minutes, the filming crew scrambled to pack up lights and cameras and relocated to the stately Victorian kitchen of nearby Kenwood House. By the time 23-year-old Rodrigo arrived, dodging wind and rain from her car to the new indoor set, every strand of her hair was still perfectly in place, and the production was just barely ready to go.

    Even for an early morning call time, the global pop star had already put in a full shift of work. During her drive to the location, she was putting final finishing touches on her upcoming track *Maggots For Brains*, scheduled for release just 10 days later. “I love that song musically, there’s so much going on – layers of harmonies everywhere,” she explained in the interview. “Literally in the car, I was telling them to turn that backing vocal up just one decibel. I was being so picky about it, I know no one else would even notice if I’d left it as it was.”

    Rodrigo has long been drawn to Hampstead Heath for the rare sense of normalcy it gives her: the sprawling open space lets her walk, relax, and blend into the crowd without being hounded for photos or autographs. “It’s just the best place to hang out,” she says. “No one ever acts weird around me, I think because it’s so spread out. One time I even saw a couple get engaged there – I was sitting on a bench, looked over, and all their friends were gathered, it was the sweetest thing.” That quiet, romantic moment lines up with Rodrigo’s own dream proposal: she hopes to one day get engaged in New York’s Central Park, with a custom bench placard that reads “Will you marry me?” “So spread the word… Hopefully my future husband will see this,” she laughs. She’s already picked out her wedding song, too – *I Melt with You* by Modern English, a track she says is perfect for walking back down the aisle after exchanging vows.

    For anyone who has followed Rodrigo’s music career since her breakout 2021 debut *Sour*, and 2023’s *Guts*, it’s no surprise that her first two albums are rooted in the messy, searing pain of catastrophic heartbreak, laced with equal parts confusion, anguish, and unapologetic feminine rage. It wasn’t until 2024 that she wrote her first uncomplicated love song, *So American*, a punchy new wave track inspired by her whirlwind romance with English actor Louis Partridge. The relationship quickly became public: Rodrigo’s Instagram filled with candid shots from Wimbledon trips and rides across London on double-decker buses, and when she headlined Glastonbury Festival last summer with Partridge watching from side stage, she changed a core lyric from “I think I’m in love” to “’Cause I’m in love.”

    When Rodrigo set out to write her third studio album, she expected the project to be a straightforward love letter to the joy of new romance, a sharp departure from the angsty heartbreak of her earlier work. “I really wanted to capture romantic joy and pleasure for the first time, because my last two albums were all heartbroken and really angsty,” she says. But the album’s final title – *You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love* – hints that the perfect romance she set out to document did not end as planned. “It’s a love story that falls apart,” she confirms. “It’s a time capsule of a relationship that spanned a few years of my life.”

    The album’s visual concept mirrors this arc: the front cover shows Rodrigo swinging through the air, carefree and giddy with new love, but flip it over, and she’s lying flat on the ground, hair messy and expression heavy with unhappiness. The narrative opens in a London pub, where Rodrigo is so besotted by her new partner, who she compares to “an angel on the walls of Versailles,” that she can barely believe he’s real, convinced she might “drop dead” if he kisses her. By the second track, *Stupid Song*, the pair have settled into a relationship, and Rodrigo is so blindingly happy that she struggles to write a coherent, meaningful lyric about it. “When you’re really deeply in love, it feels like any song is futile,” she explains. “It’s really hard to capture that feeling in a way that feels real to other people.”

    As the tracklist progresses, quiet doubts and persistent anxieties begin to creep into the story, and the narrative unravels around the seventh track, *Purple*. While the lyrics on the surface read as a happy love song, Rodrigo uses intentionally unresolved chords to create an undercurrent of constant instability. “Initially, it was a very sweet, sugary love song,” she says. “A few months after we wrote it, we went back, swapped out the chords, and tweaked the lyrics. It’s definitely the turning point on the album where things start to go sour.”

    A similar revision shaped *What’s Wrong With Me*, a dream duet between Rodrigo and her long-time musical hero, The Cure’s Robert Smith. The track was originally written about the all-consuming ache of missing a partner, but after Rodrigo’s breakup, she rewrote the lyrics to reflect a harder truth: the relationship itself was the source of her unhappiness. The new lyrics cut straight to the pain: “I can’t eat, I can’t sleep / I think you’re what’s wrong with me.”

    Rodrigo and Smith debuted the new track earlier this month at Spain’s Primavera Festival, marking their second collaboration after they shared the Glastonbury stage last summer. Backstage after the set, Smith heaped praise on the young star, telling BBC 6 Music: “She is genuinely fantastic, as a singer, as a songwriter, as a performer. I’m slightly in awe of how easy she makes all of it look.” That Glastonbury headline set, widely hailed as the performance of the weekend, cemented Rodrigo’s status as a generational talent, equally comfortable delivering soft, soaring ballads and high-energy pop-punk anthems that get crowds roaring. But even with that critical acclaim, Rodrigo admits she was crippled with anxiety before the performance. “I remember having a near anxiety attack in the bathroom, thinking ‘How am I going to do this? I don’t know if I’m ready,’” she says. “But the second I stepped on stage and started singing, something just shifted over me. I felt totally calm, totally in my element. I’m not very spiritual or religious, but moments like that make you feel like music is just so magical, you can’t really put it into words.”

    That iconic Glastonbury performance was fueled by an unexpected pre-show ritual: three full bowls of sticky toffee pudding from her hotel restaurant. “I stayed at this hotel that had the best sticky toffee pudding, and I was like, ‘You know what? I gotta do it,’” she laughs. “If the toffee’s really hot and the ice cream melts on top, it’s really good.” Sticky toffee isn’t her only British culinary obsession – she’s also completely hooked on dippy eggs and soldiers, and her friends have gifted her dozens of custom egg cups from all over the world to feed the habit.

    That down-to-earth charm is central to Rodrigo’s appeal. Raised in the entertainment industry, she spent years working on Disney Channel shows before launching her music career, but she’s never been aloof or overly precious about her fame. One of the biggest reasons she loves living part-time in the UK is the sense of normalcy it gives her. “I feel so normal here, very adult. I can walk to the pub and meet friends. It’s a city where spontaneity is really encouraged. People are very social here, in a way that they’re not in Southern California.”

    Despite boasting more than 40 million Instagram followers, Rodrigo has never cared much about conforming to other people’s expectations of how a global pop star should act. She’s been openly vocal about a range of political issues, from the rollback of reproductive rights in the United States to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Last year, she publicly called out the Trump administration for using her music in videos promoting ICE deportations, labeling the government’s policies “barbaric and cruel.” She approaches her activism thoughtfully, but says she has no desire to be universally liked. “I definitely try to be careful with my words, but simultaneously, the women I looked up to when I was young were really outspoken, and that was one of the reasons I adored them,” she says. “I don’t think my goal is to be liked by all. And when you stop making that your primary motivation, I think everything becomes a lot more joyful.”

    As the interview wrapped up, Rodrigo answered a series of quick, personal questions that revealed more little-known parts of her life: she has 60% permanent hearing loss in her left ear, she originally dreamed of becoming an obstetrician as a child (and even played obstetrician with her dolls, long before she understood what the job entailed), and if she made a biopic of her life, she’d title it *Olivia Rodrigo Lives the Happiest, Most Joyful Life Any Singer-Songwriter Ever Lived*. If she ever returned to acting, she says she’d jump at the chance to play Juliet in *Romeo and Juliet* – a fitting role for pop music’s most famous chronicler of heartbreak.

    Like Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Rodrigo has always been mature beyond her years, and she recently took full control of her career, parting ways with her long-time managers to build a hand-picked creative team that lets her call every shot. That autonomy means she can skip high-profile industry events that don’t align with her values, like the Met Gala, which she recently told the *New York Times* doesn’t inspire her or fit with what she cares about.

    It’s clear that unflinching authenticity and uncompromising artistic integrity are the core of Rodrigo’s massive global appeal. Her songs have racked up billions of streams because she doesn’t shy away from the messy, ugly parts of being human: she’s just as willing to write about her own pettiness, jealousy, and insecurity as she is to call out the bad behavior of exes. “That’s one of my favourite things about songwriting,” she says. “I can write a song about being petty or jealous or super insecure, and I get it off my chest in a way that’s actually productive.”

    That honest self-expression is likely why she seems so well-adjusted and grounded even under the relentless pressure of global fame. Even the torrential London rain that derailed our interview didn’t dampen her mood. “It wouldn’t be a proper English summer without it,” she beams, already planning a post-interview swim in Hampstead Heath’s outdoor ponds with her friends. For a girl who just documented a devastating public breakup, she seems, in the end, pretty happy.

  • French singer Patrick Bruel faces rape charges

    French singer Patrick Bruel faces rape charges

    One of France’s most high-profile entertainment industry figures has become the latest high-profile figure to face legal consequences growing out of the global Me Too movement, with judicial officials opening a formal investigation into Patrick Bruel on multiple counts of rape and sexual abuse.

    After 48 hours of police custody held in Nanterre, a western suburb of the French capital, the 67-year-old multi-hyphenate star – who built his decades-long career as both a chart-topping singer and a successful film and stage actor – appeared before a panel of four investigating judges on Wednesday evening. The panel upheld a request from the state prosecutor to place Bruel under formal judicial investigation over allegations of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. A final decision on whether Bruel will remain in pre-trial custody is still pending from a senior judge.

    Throughout the legal process, Bruel has repeatedly and forcefully denied all allegations against him. Under the French judicial system, formal investigative status means an examining magistrate will now conduct a deep-dive review of all claims, with full access granted to Bruel’s legal team to review prosecution evidence. Judicial data shows that this process most often leads to a full public trial in the majority of cases. French legal code defines rape as any non-consensual act of sexual penetration.

    Feminist advocacy groups across France have welcomed the announcement of the investigation, expressing satisfaction that the claims are moving forward through the legal system. The case lands at a moment of intense national scrutiny over how French courts handle sexual offenses, sparked by the high-profile murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna – whose suspected killer had been previously reported for multiple instances of abuse but faced no prior legal consequences.

    Bruel is the second major household name in French entertainment to face widespread sexual abuse allegations in recent years, following fellow actor Gérard Depardieu. The 77-year-old Depardieu received a suspended prison sentence last year on sexual assault charges stemming from an incident on a film set, and he has since filed an appeal to overturn his conviction.

    Born Patrick Benguigui in Algeria in 1959, Bruel launched his entertainment career and rose to stardom in the early 1980s, driven by the massive commercial success of hit singles including *Marre de cette nana-là* (Had Enough of That Chick). His distinctive baritone voice and brooding dark features sparked a nationwide cultural frenzy dubbed “Bruelmania” by contemporary media. Over the course of his career, he has appeared in more than 30 feature films, and most recently headlined a Paris stage production before the allegations came to light.

    In the wake of the new claims, all of Bruel’s remaining performances at the Paris theater were canceled, as were nearly all scheduled stops on a planned international concert tour spanning France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. The tour has now been permanently scrapped, according to organizers.

    This is not the first time Bruel has faced sexual misconduct claims: a previous set of sexual harassment complaints against him were closed in 2020 after investigators cited a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed. In May of this year, French investigative news outlet Mediapart published a bombshell report revealing that roughly 30 women had come forward with consistent accounts of harassment or assault at Bruel’s hands, with many of the alleged incidents occurring on film sets or in backstage areas at music venues.

    Last month, a high-profile accuser joined the list of claimants: well-known French television and radio presenter Flavie Flament, who alleged that in 1991, when she was 16 years old and Bruel was 32, he drugged and raped her at his private Paris residence. The Flament allegation is not included among the nine counts formally cited by judges in the current investigation, as the statute of limitations for the alleged crime has expired. However, the state prosecutor has formally requested that Flament’s claim and 12 other additional older allegations be re-evaluated for potential inclusion in the formal charges.

    Reaffirming his denial of all wrongdoing, Bruel told French media in recent comments that he acknowledged he may have been “heavy-handed” in past interactions, but insisted he “always took no for an answer.” In a public Instagram post shared last month, the star wrote: “I have never in my life forced myself on a woman. Nor have I ever drugged, manipulated or tried to subjugate anyone… nor used my fame to abuse or obtain non-consensual relations.”

  • French pop icon Bruel charged with rape, sexual assault

    French pop icon Bruel charged with rape, sexual assault

    One of France’s most recognizable entertainment figures, 67-year-old pop star and actor Patrick Bruel, has been formally charged with rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment following dozens of allegations from women spanning nearly three decades. The charges, confirmed by a judge in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, mark one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases to hit France’s entertainment industry in recent years, following the 2023 conviction of screen legend Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault.

    Bruel, who has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, spent 48 hours in police custody for questioning earlier this week after being taken into custody on Monday. The Nanterre prosecutor’s office confirmed that the current charges relate to nine alleged victims, with incidents occurring between 2010 and 2019. An additional 13 complaints, alleging offenses between 1992 and 2008, have been added to the case file handed over to investigating magistrates, even though prosecutors note these claims appear to be beyond the statute of limitations at this stage. Prosecutors have formally requested that Bruel be placed in pre-trial detention as the investigation proceeds.

    A defining cultural figure in France since the 1990s, when his chart-topping albums and teen heartthrob status sparked a national cultural phenomenon dubbed “Bruelmania,” the star has long maintained his innocence. Last month, in a public Instagram post addressing early allegations, Bruel stated he had “never forced a woman,” and announced he would cancel all scheduled concerts through September to focus on clearing his name. In a statement released Monday, his legal team reaffirmed that he would cooperate fully with investigators, saying he would “provide all the elements necessary to demonstrate his innocence.” Beyond his music and acting career, Bruel is also a former world poker champion, having claimed the title in 1998.

    The list of accusers includes multiple high-profile figures from France’s cultural and media sectors. Daniela Elstner, current director of Unifrance — the organization tasked with promoting French cinema internationally — filed a formal allegation in March claiming Bruel attempted to rape her in 1997, when she was a 26-year-old intern at a film festival in Mexico. Following Wednesday’s charging announcement, Elstner’s lawyer Jade Dousselin called the development “a real first legal victory for the victims.”

    Since Bruel’s initial detention on Monday, multiple new accusations have emerged. Attorney Myriam Guedj Benayoun confirmed Tuesday that a new complaint will be filed shortly, alleging Bruel attempted to rape a 19-year-old woman at his private residence in 2000. Another legal representative, Corinne Herrmann, confirmed two additional rape complaints were filed on May 27 and June 3. Investigative outlet Mediapart identified the two new accusers as a former beauty queen, who alleges Bruel raped her in 2008, and a physiotherapist who claims the assault occurred in 2000.

    French television host Flavie Flament, who publicly accused Bruel of raping her in 1991 when she was a minor, also spoke out this week. While Flament noted her allegation is not part of the current investigation due to timing, she criticized France’s slow-moving judicial system for the delay in addressing the claims. “Three weeks after my complaint was made public, Patrick Bruel is in police custody,” Flament told Agence France-Presse Monday. “What is truly outrageous is that before me, there were women who for months — for years — tried to make themselves heard, and it took the media coverage of my complaint for things to move forward.”

    At the peak of his fame, Bruel cultivated a public persona as a charming, desirable heartthrob, with his face gracing the covers of countless teen magazines across France in the early 1990s. Enthralled fans regularly gathered outside locations he was known to frequent in Paris, cementing his status as a national masculine ideal during the height of “Bruelmania.” In a 2000 television interview, Bruel leaned into this public image, commenting: “I’m easy to seduce, but not easy to keep.”

  • Pope honors Barcelona sacred monuments on death centenary of Sagrada Familia designer Gaudí

    Pope honors Barcelona sacred monuments on death centenary of Sagrada Familia designer Gaudí

    BARCELONA, Spain – On a pivotal stop of his weeklong trip across Spain, Pope Leo XIV centered his Wednesday itinerary around honoring two of Catalonia’s most cherished religious and cultural landmarks, tying the visit to the 100th anniversary of the death of legendary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, the visionary behind the iconic Sagrada Familia Basilica.

    Before launching his scheduled public ceremonies, the Pope opened his day with a quiet, private visit to incarcerated people at a local Barcelona prison, carrying forward the tradition established by his predecessor Pope Francis, who prioritized meeting marginalized communities that cannot participate in large-scale public papal events during international trips.

    Leo’s visit to Spain has underscored a striking shift in the nation’s religious landscape: five decades after the end of the 20th-century dictatorship that left a legacy of religious upheaval across the country of 50 million, hundreds of thousands of faithful Catholics have turned out in droves to welcome the first American pope, demonstrating the enduring strength of religious belief in modern Spain.

    The first major public event of the day took place at Montserrat, a dramatic mountain sanctuary located just outside Barcelona that holds deep spiritual meaning for Catalan people. The site, home to an 11th-century Benedictine abbey and a 16th-century basilica, is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in Spain, best known for its iconic Black Madonna statue that draws millions of worshippers annually. Pope Leo led a midday prayer at the abbey to honor the site’s centuries-long role as a center of Catalan piety.

    The undisputed highlight of the Pope’s Barcelona visit came Wednesday evening, when he celebrated an evening Mass at Sagrada Familia, the unfinished architectural masterpiece that has become a global symbol of both Catalonia and Christian faith. The service marked 100 years since Gaudí’s death at age 73, three days after he was struck by a tram in Barcelona in 1926.

    The story of Sagrada Familia is intertwined with papal history: construction first launched during the papacy of Leo XIII, the current Pope’s namesake, more than 140 years ago. Today, the basilica remains a work in progress, but it is one of the most visited tourist sites in the world, welcoming more than 5 million guests annually. Gaudí, who is currently under consideration for sainthood by the Catholic Church, devoted more than 40 years of his life to the project, describing it as a complete retelling of the Christian faith carved in stone.

    Every detail of the basilica is infused with religious symbolism. The Nativity and Passion of Jesus Christ are etched into the structure’s eastern and western facades, while a third southern facade, the Glory, will serve as the main entrance once construction is complete. Architecturally, the structure draws on Byzantine and Gothic traditions to create a masterpiece of geometry and form that celebrates Christian belief and God’s creation through stone and natural light.

    In total, 18 spires pierce Barcelona’s skyline, each carrying specific symbolic meaning: 12 represent Jesus Christ’s 12 apostles, four honor the four Evangelists who wrote the Gospels, one topped with a star rises above the apse to venerate the Virgin Mary, and the tallest of all is the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ. Finished last year at a height of 172.5 meters (564 feet), the tower makes Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world, a title Pope Leo formally cemented Wednesday when he consecrated the structure during his evening Mass.

    Inside, Gaudí’s design draws deep inspiration from the natural world he called his greatest teacher. Cross-shaped in layout, with the altar positioned at the far apse, the interior is defined by towering tree-like columns that soar toward the ceiling, with shifting colored light filtering through stained glass windows, mimicking the effect of sunlight dappling through forest leaves. Gaudí famously once said, “Everything comes from the great book of nature, always open that we must read.”

    Historian Mònica Santín, who leads educational tours of the basilica, notes that Gaudí’s work was guided by two core texts: the Gospels and the natural world. “The way he lets in the natural light is also an invitation to the Christian mystery,” Santín explained. “When you enter inside, it is all light. What is that the symbol of? We can’t see God, but we perceive his light all around us. I think that is how you can read this message, and it is fascinating.”

    This reporting on religious issues is supported by the Associated Press through a collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. The Associated Press holds sole editorial responsibility for this content.

  • Model who alleges Kanye West choked her tells BBC she felt ‘suffocated and scared’

    Model who alleges Kanye West choked her tells BBC she felt ‘suffocated and scared’

    A former reality TV model has gone public with disturbing allegations against the iconic but controversial rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, claiming he assaulted her during a 2010 music video shoot and left her terrified and disrespected. Jennifer An, who competed on *America’s Next Top Model* in 2009, has detailed her account of the encounter in an exclusive interview with the BBC’s *Fame Under Fire* podcast, more than 14 years after the alleged incident took place.

    An was 24 years old when she landed a casting spot for the music video of La Roux’s breakout hit *In For The Kill*, a gig that came as a promising career step following her television appearance. When she arrived on set at New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel, she had no advance warning that Ye would be attending the shoot. According to An’s account, the production team suddenly halted filming and scrambled to prepare when word spread that Ye was arriving, lining all models up in a hallway for him to select from for an unplanned cameo scene. Ye ultimately chose three models, including An, to join his sequence.

    An alleges that after struggling to recall his lines for the planned shoot, Ye abruptly pivoted to film an impromptu new scene. He positioned An in a chair directly in front of the camera, seated himself out of frame facing her, and gave no prior direction or warning about what would happen next. Once filming began, An says Ye suddenly reached out and began choking her with one hand, then added a second hand to the choke, smeared her stage makeup across her face, and forced his fingers into her mouth in a movement that simulated oral sex. She recalled feeling frozen with fear, worried that speaking up would cost her the job and derail her budding modeling career, while crew members stood by without intervening, simply staring at the encounter. When it ended, An alleges Ye declared “this is art, I’m Picasso” before abruptly gathering his things and leaving the set without a word.

    Ye never appeared in the final cut of the released music video, though he did feature as a guest rapper on an official remix of the track. Immediately after the incident, An said she spoke to La Roux’s frontwoman Elly Jackson, who apologized for what occurred and agreed not to include the footage out of respect for An’s privacy. In 2024, An reached out to Jackson via Instagram to revisit the incident, and Jackson confirmed her memory of the event, calling it “horrific” in written messages that have since been submitted as evidence in court. Jackson also claimed that after the encounter, Ye whispered to her that he “bet you think I just put women back about 10 years,” to which she replied that he had actually set women back 500 years.

    An filed a civil lawsuit against Ye in 2024 under New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, a law that temporarily extends the statute of limitations for survivors of sexual and gender-based assault. The case has not yet gone to trial. Earlier this year, Ye’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the suit, confirming the encounter took place but framing it as an “intense and provocative theatrical performance” inspired by a scene from the cult film *American Psycho*. The defense argues that Ye is protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of artistic expression, and claims An was a consenting participant who never objected to the scene or attempted to leave.

    An’s legal counsel, Jesse Weinstein, has pushed back against this argument, warning that dismissing the case would set a dangerous precedent that allows artists to commit harmful, non-consensual acts against other people in creative spaces simply by labeling their behavior as art. Ye, who has been one of the most polarizing figures in popular culture over the last decade, has previously drawn widespread backlash for repeated antisemitic remarks and pro-Nazi content. He has apologized for his antisemitic comments in the past and attributed his well-documented erratic behavior to his public diagnoses of autism and bipolar disorder. The BBC has reached out to Ye’s representatives, La Roux’s label Universal Music Group, and other involved parties for additional comment, and has not received further response from Ye as of reporting.

    For anyone affected by the issues raised in this story, support resources are available through BBC Action Line.